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Marginalization, Decolonization and Voice: Prospects for Aboriginal Education in Canada

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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 467 991 RC 023 315 AUTHOR Wotherspoon, Terry; Schissel, Bernard TITLE Marginalization, Decolonization and Voice: Prospects for Aboriginal Education in Canada. PUB DATE 1998-12-00 NOTE 30p.; Discussion Paper, Pan-Canadian Education Research Agenda, Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. AVAILABLE FROM For full text: http://www.cmec.ca/stats/pcera/ compaper/98- 54en.pdf. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Reports Evaluative (142) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *American Indian Education; *Canada Natives; Case Studies; Cultural Awareness; *Culturally Relevant Education; *Educational Environment; *Educational Needs; Educational Practices; Elementary Secondary Education; Equal Education; Foreign Countries; Indigenous Personnel; Racial Discrimination; *School Effectiveness; Teacher Characteristics; Teacher Student Relationship; Tribally Controlled Education IDENTIFIERS *Canada; Social Justice ABSTRACT In Canada, Aboriginal people remain highly disadvantaged relative to the general population. Structural factors operate in conjunction with cultural factors and other social practices like racism, such that they cannot be explained away through conventional analysis and isolated interventions. Schooling for Aboriginal people must incorporate and maintain Aboriginal cultures and prepare students for success in modern society. The strongest benefits are observed when Aboriginal culture is integrated into all aspects of programming and school culture, regardless of improvements fostered by specific initiatives or interventions. Teachers and administrators successful in working with Aboriginal students and communities are those who maintain active engagement with their learners. This involvement requires continual sensitivity to cultural and social factors outside and inside the school setting, open and caring relations with students, and the ability to serve as facilitator and counsellor rather than purely as instructor. Regardless of the extent of agreement on principles of Aboriginal control over education, it is essential to alleviate real obstacles that hamper effective . control. Education systems and their personnel must be sensitive to special needs and forms of diversity in communities in which Aboriginal people live. Three case studies illustrate how successful Aboriginal schools focus not just on educational factors, but on structural and economic ones such as emotional and physical safety, achievable day-to-day tasks, democracy, personal and collective justice, and a comfortable physical environment. (Contains 111 references.) (TD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Marginalization, Decolonization and Voice: Prospects for Aboriginal Education in Canada Terry Wotherspoon and Bernard Schissel Department of Sociology University of Saskatchewan Discussion Paper Pan-Canadian Education Research Agenda Council of Ministers of Education, Canada December, 1998 Abstract The paper addresses the causes and implications of, and possible solutions to, the "education gap" between Aboriginal people and the general population in Canada. Our analysis highlights how structural and processual aspects of education interact to serve, alternatively, as barriers and contributing factors to the success of Aboriginal students. Adequate understanding of, and action to address, the education gap requires sensitivity to the relationships among cultures, education systems and the social context in which schooling is situated. Social differentiation within Aboriginal populations as well as between populations must be factored into analysis. Relevant factors include cultural teachings and material, educational personnel, resources, governance, and community linkages. We illustrate how these factors can be related holistically with reference to specific schools that have demonstrated remarkable success in working with Aboriginal students. In formulating policy considerations and questions for further research, we conclude that formal education systems must acknowledge that, while unique cultural resources are important to the education of Aboriginal students, Aboriginal people also wish to be equipped with knowledge and skills required for success by conventional standards. Fulfillment of these objectives requires a combination of basic and special initiatives. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research andImprovement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) le"This ocument has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated inthis document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCEAND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIALHAS BEEN GRANTED BY Wal-hersfoln_ ST COPY AVAILABLE TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) The "Education Gap" Between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal People in Canada Conventional educational indicators highlight pronounced disadvantages experienced by Aboriginal people relative to the general population (see especially the 1996 report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples). The 1996 census reveals that, among persons aged fifteen and over, 53.6 per cent of Aboriginal people have less than high school education, compared with 23.9 per cent of.the comparable population in Canada, while only 3.3 per cent of Aboriginal people have a university degree, as opposed to 17.0 per cent of the general population (Statistics Canada, 1998). Earlier data show that, among those aged 15 to 49, about two-thirds of the Aboriginal population, compared to less than half of the general population, did not complete high school (Wotherspoon, 1998: 173); Gilbert et al. (1993: 23) report that 40 per cent of Aboriginal youth aged 18 to 20 were early school leavers compared to 16 per cent of the total 18 to 20 year old population; moreover, only one-quarter of Aboriginal school leavers reported returning to high school compared to nearly half of all school leavers (Assembly of First Nations, 1998: 1). Despite increased enrollment by Aboriginal students in postsecondary institutions, rates levelled off in the mid-1990s, with 6.9 per cent of Registered Indians enrolled in full-time postsecondary programs in 1995-96 compared with a rate of 11.0 per cent for all people in Canada in the same cohort (Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1998: 32-33). Comparable statistics in a wide range of studies (see especially Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 1996: Volume 3) reveal that, despite some encouraging signs towards slowing or reversing these trends, the education gap remains one of the most critical problems facing Aboriginal people in Canada. Consequences and Implications of the Education Gap At least as much as for other people in Canada, increased educational attainment for Aboriginal people plays a critical role in improved labour market integration, employment prospects, earnings, and reduction of dependence on government transfers (Armstrong, Kennedy and Oberle, 1990; Jankowski and Moazzami, 1995: 109-110; Santiago, 1997: 32; Saskatchewan Treaty Indians, 1993). In 1995, for instance, the average employment income of Aboriginal people was one-third less than the national average, with lower earnings in every age and education category; however, for those with university degrees, 3 the gap dropped to twenty-five per cent (Statistics Canada, 1998: 10-11). As the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (1997: 87) warns, "an Aboriginal economic gap" characterized by unemployment, income deficiencies, and underutilized productivity will be reproduced without major improvements in educational success rates. Undereducation compounds itself over time, as the lack of qualified or trained learners at any given level restricts the pool of applicants for higher education, skilled training, and highly skilled and professional employment (Working Margins Consulting Group, 1992: 50). Increasing numbers of highly trained Aboriginal people are required in order to ensure adequate representation within general labour markets, social roles, and political institutions, and to fulfill leadership roles within Aboriginal organizations and enterprises. The relative youth of the Aboriginal population, compared to the general population, has mixed significance. There is reason for some optimism since recent cohorts of Aboriginal youth are better educated and have access to a wider range of occupational and societal alternatives than previous generations. However, economic disadvantage is likely to be maintained or even increased as long as the attainment of formal educational credentials remains below competitive levels. In addition to its market relevance, educational success holds important consequences for the social health of Aboriginal people and for those who provide services to that population. Poverty, injury and ill health, violence, alcohol and substance abuse problems, family difficulties and early childhood concerns, and involvement in criminal activities are all strongly interconnected as both barriers to educational success and consequences of educational problems (Canadian Educational Statistics Council, 1996: 68; Schissel, 1997; Wotherspoon, 1998: 184). In the same way that schooling - documented most thoroughly in the residential school experience, but more generally as well - has contributed to the fragmentation of family and community ties,
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